


Bewitch the Census

by Celandine



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: Community: percy_ficathon, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-29
Updated: 2009-06-29
Packaged: 2017-10-12 05:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/121410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celandine/pseuds/Celandine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy's been transferred to a new unit at the Ministry, and finds himself interviewing Viktor Krum.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bewitch the Census

**Author's Note:**

  * For [westwardlee](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=westwardlee).



Sternly, Percy told the butterflies in his stomach to settle down. It wasn't as though he had never _met_ the man, after all; besides, being a renowned Quidditch player didn't make Viktor Krum anything more than an ordinary wizard for the present purpose.

Percy sighed. The idea of a worldwide census of all witches and wizards was a reasonable one, and he couldn't even argue with the theory behind carrying out individual in-depth surveys with a thousand randomly selected individuals to supplement the basic data, but putting it all into practice was a hell of a lot of work. Sometimes he wished that Hermione had failed to get the scheme approved. But she had, and Minister Shacklebolt was extremely enthusiastic about it, so... there it was.

Most of the interviewees were extremely ordinary, naturally, but chance had turned up Krum's name, and further chance meant that Percy was the person assigned to him.

He had sent the Quidditch star the standard message by owl to inquire when would be a convenient time for him to meet with Percy. Interviews typically lasted several hours or more, and for these international sessions Percy had learned that it was best to allow an entire day for the process. Anything might go wrong, from being unable to find the interviewee's flat to having unexpected translation problems. The latter was unlikely to be an issue in this particular case, since Percy knew that Krum spoke very good if accented English.

He took a Portkey into Plovdiv about midmorning, and located Krum's flat. Their appointment was not until one-thirty, so Percy ate lunch at a restaurant near the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre and reviewed his notes before returning and ringing the doorbell.

Krum himself answered it, which surprised Percy momentarily, although it probably shouldn't have.

"Yes? Oh, you must be the wizard from the census. We have met once, no?" Krum gestured Percy inside.

Percy held out his hand and was absurdly pleased when Krum shook it without ceremony. His hand was warm and calloused, presumably from his broomstick. "Yes, the year that you participated in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I stood in for Mr. Crouch."

Percy still blushed at the reminder of that entire unfortunate series of events, but Krum appeared not to notice.

"Ah, of course. Sit down. Would you like a drink?" He indicated a well-stocked sideboard. "I have many liquors, anything you want."

"It's rather early, and I'm afraid I really oughtn't to drink on the job," said Percy with some regret.

Krum nodded. "I have understood. You are English. Tea, then?"

"It's really unnecessary," Percy tried to protest, but Krum was already disappearing through the door at the far end of the room.

Percy did not feel entirely comfortable sitting down without Krum present, so he remained standing, his briefcase clasped tightly in one hand. He looked around the room with curiosity. It appeared that Krum had furnished it either from an antique shop or by rummaging in someone's well-stocked attic. The decor was at odds with the rather modern and utilitarian exterior of the building, which Percy guessed had been built some time after the big Muggle war of the 1940s.

"Lemon? Sugar? Milk?" Krum popped back in to ask. He frowned. "Sit, I told you. I will be back in just a moment."

"Milk and one sugar," Percy said, seating himself obediently.

"Very good."

Several minutes later he reappeared with a tea tray. Percy had opened his briefcase and withdrawn the sheaf of parchment on which the questions were written.

"I will be taking notes of your answers," Percy explained as Krum handed him the tea and sat down – sprawled really – in a large wing-backed chair. "Some of the questions have a fixed set of answers from which you can choose, but others are open-ended. You may also decline to answer any questions, or stop at any time. After we're finished, I will make a duplicate copy and send it to you to read. If you believe I have made any mistakes, you can correct them then. All responses will be confidential; your name will not be associated with the information, although if you choose to include personally identifiable details in your responses, future researchers may be able to guess your identity. Are you comfortable with all of that?"

Krum had been listening carefully. Now he laughed. "So precise and careful. Yes, yes, I am comfortable. Let us begin or we will never finish."

He had poured himself a cup of tea, Percy noticed, and felt better about drinking his own.

"The first questions are about your early background, insofar as you know it. Were your parents witch and wizard, or was either of them a Squib or a Muggle?" Percy began, as Krum watched him intently.

Krum knew his ancestry back six generations, far more than most of Percy's interviewees, and he was duly impressed by that, although not particularly by the fact that Krum was pureblooded to that degree, without even a Squib among any of his relations so far as he was aware. Purity of wizarding blood didn't mean much any more to most wizards, and those to whom it did generally kept quiet about it, after Voldemort's fall. Krum didn't seem to care either, judging from the matter-of-fact way in which he related the information.

The interview moved on, dealing with Krum's upbringing, his schooling in great detail, his employment history likewise, and his views on wide range of subjects.

Eventually Krum interrupted Percy and asked, "May we take a short stop? I am unaccustomed to sitting and talking so long."

"Certainly," Percy said. They had been going for a good two hours or more. "Whatever you like. We are perhaps halfway through; remember that you are free to stop altogether at any time."

"Yes, but if I do not finish answering, then the knowledge will not be so good, yes?" Krum nodded as if to himself. "No, no, I wish to finish, it is merely that I must rest my voice for a few moments first. I have had an illness last week. I am not ill now, but the throat is weak."

"Er." Percy cleared his own throat. "Since we're pausing, could I perhaps use your lavatory?" When Krum looked puzzled, Percy clarified, "The toilet?"

"Yes, of course. Down that hallway." Krum pointed.

The bathroom was functional and clean, but that was about all that could be said for it. Percy finished his necessary business and washed his hands thoroughly, drying them on the worn white towels. If Krum indulged in any luxuries, this wasn't where. Perhaps he saved most of his Quidditch earnings? Percy wasn't sure how long the typical career in the sport lasted, but eventually Krum would want to retire, he supposed.

When he returned, Krum was drinking something that was definitely not tea.

"Grejana," he said, "that is hot spiced rakia. Good for the throat. Would you like?"

Percy was fairly certain that the drink must be alcoholic, but it _was_ after four o'clock... and it smelled delicious. He threw caution to the winds. "Thank you, yes."

The drink tasted even better than it smelled, and Percy took several larger sips before regretfully setting it aside to pick up his sheaf of notes again.

"We'd gone through the political section, I think. We've some questions on religion and economy, and then society. Still prepared to finish, Mr Krum?"

"Certainly."

Krum's mouth quirked in a smile, and Percy cleared his throat and looked down to test his quill-point, quite unnecessarily. He couldn't exactly describe Krum as _handsome_ , but there was something almost magnetic about him.

Gathering himself together, he plunged back into the interview script and they carried on for another couple of hours.

"How would you describe your views of wizard-Muggle interaction?" Percy finished his second cup of the grejana, deciding that he really wasn't _drunk_ , just a little happy. That was all right; there was no scheduled Portkey from Plovdiv to London until morning anyhow, and he was sure he could find the small wizarding hotel where he was to stay.

"I do not object to it, but prefer wizard-wizard interaction," said Krum, so calmly that Percy had to think twice before he realised what Krum meant... which was _not_ that he had prejudices against Muggles, or interacting with them. Krum's English was better than Percy had assumed.

"You do?" Percy's voice squeaked slightly. He clutched the quill, not making any notes about this answer.

Krum nodded. "I have always." He cocked his head. "This does not offend, I hope."

Percy swallowed hard. "No. Er." Did he dare to ask? Well, it wasn't as if he was likely to run into Krum in the future, so it shouldn't be _too_ embarrassing if he'd misconstrued. "Are you... are you suggesting something?"

"If I interest you. You interest me." Krum grinned. "Your brother Charlie, I met last year after a Quidditch match and he described you as someone I would like. I wrote to Hermione to ask more."

"You _what_?" Percy gaped. So his assignment to interview Krum hadn't been by chance after all.

Now Krum looked slightly abashed. "I could not think of a way to meet you. Hermione said she would work something out, and I was happy for that."

"I see," said Percy. "I wish she'd said something to _me_. Not that I mind, just... I would have been more prepared, that's all. Well." He glanced at his stack of parchment. "Perhaps we should finish these last few questions, and then..."

"Yes," Krum agreed. "Then, we pay attention to senses, not census."

Percy laughed. "Precisely so."

He looked forward to it.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for westwardlee for the 2009 percy_ficathon.


End file.
